1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to a display shelving system. More specifically, the invention relates to a plastic rack display having shelves that are easily moved into a display position and a loading position. The display position inclines individual product shelves or trays so that the product is gravity fed to the front of each shelf while the loading position places the shelves on a horizontal orientation.
2. Description of Related Art
Retail display shelving commonly used in grocery stores, department stores, discount stores, and other retail outlets that display items on shelves, are manufactured by numerous companies in a plethora of models and design choices. The units that are typically found in a grocery store to display items for sale, such as bags of salty snacks, are typically self-contained with multiple shelves.
Although there are variations amongst the units offered by different manufacturing companies, the basic design is fairly well established, and there are many common features shared industry wide. In the prior art, a common display apparatus is a gondola-type unit, which typically has a back panel vertically oriented and held in position by connection to at least one upright, which is also vertically oriented. The connection to the upright is accomplished by at least a bottom rail, a center rail, and a top rail, although more horizontal rails can be used for this purpose. The vertical uprights are stabilized by at least one, and typically two, base legs or brackets. One or more shelves can be horizontally positioned in numerous locations relative to the back panel by virtue of connections between the shelf and the uprights. A disadvantage of such a gondola system is that many such systems require heavy, metal parts. Often, they are not stackable, combinable units; thus, as stand-alone units, they make inefficient use of the available space. Still, many are non-adjustable and/or offer only one possible arrangement of parts.
In certain circumstances, gravity-feed displays may be more desirable than displays with horizontal, level trays, while in other circumstances, the opposite may be true. For example, in gravity-feed displays having multiple shelves per column, it can be quite difficult to access product on sloped shelving, particularly when such shelving is near the ground. More specifically, it can be difficult for consumers to bend down to access the lower trays and then reach up between adjacent shelves to retrieve product. In this situation, a display having horizontally-oriented trays (at least in that lower area) would be more appropriate. However, if the tray or trays in question are chest-high or above, the consumer may find that gravity-feed trays (inclined trays) are easier to use than horizontal trays. As product is placed onto a gravity-fed shelf, the product tends to slide down to the lower, front side of the shelf, eliminating the need for the consumer to reach up, over, and towards the rear of the higher trays. It would therefore be desirable for a single display rack to accommodate trays of a horizontal orientation as well as a gravity-feed/inclined orientation.
Nothing in the prior art addresses the problem associated with providing modular, stackable, combinable, display units in a lightweight, sturdy, variable format. Furthermore, a need exists for a display system capable of simultaneously accommodating trays in either a gravitational-feed orientation or a non-gravitational-feed orientation (i.e. horizontal). The present invention fills these needs and other needs as detailed more fully below.